Huffman, Bennet, Colleagues Fight Against Rescission of Key Energy Leasing and Public Lands Protections

Huffman, Bennet, Colleagues Fight Against Rescission of Key Energy Leasing and Public Lands Protections

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet led 39 colleagues to oppose the recent rescission of two key Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oil and gas rules on leasing and waste prevention. Their rollback will harm public lands, reduce community input, increase pollution, and raise taxpayer costs.

In the first letter, the lawmakers denounce the BLM's proposal to rescind the 2024 Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process rule (the 2024 Onshore Leasing Rule).

The 2024 Onshore Leasing Rule ensured that the concerns of states, Tribes, and local communities were included in decision-making and was a long-overdue correction to decades of BLM policies that favored oil and gas development over other uses and led to tens of thousands of dangerous abandoned wells that became the financial responsibility of taxpayers instead of the oil and gas companies. This rule had immense public support and established a balanced framework that saved taxpayer money, ensured multi-use management of public lands, and protected cultural resources and rural communities that depend on public lands. In this letter, the lawmakers ask that the administration specifically reconsider oil and gas bonding requirements; public participation, Tribal consultation, and landowner involvement; and leasing preference criteria.

"[...] BLM's newly proposed rule threatens to dismantle this common-sense progress. We are deeply concerned that the proposed changes shift cleanup liabilities back to the public, restrict community and private landowner participation, and distort the balance required to manage America's public lands responsibly," wrote the lawmakers.

In addition to Huffman and Bennet, Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), as well as Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Ed Case (D-Hawaii), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IlI.), Susie Lee (D-Nev.), Mike Levin (D-Calif.), Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Dave Min (D-Calif.), Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Emily Randall (D-Wash.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), and Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) signed this letter.

In the second letter, the lawmakers outline their strong opposition to BLM's proposal to overturn the 2024 Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation rule (the 2024 Waste Prevention Rule). The BLM's reversal of this commonsense rule will increase pollution on public lands, reduce domestic energy supply, expose nearby communities to avoidable health risks, and waste publicly owned natural gas, costing Americans tens of millions in foregone revenue.

"We strongly urge BLM to reject this proposed rescission and maintain the 2024 Waste Prevention rule. The oil and gas resources on these lands belong to the American public and Tribal nations, and they deserve to benefit from the full value and benefits of responsible resource stewardship," wrote the lawmakers.

In addition to Huffman and Bennet, Senators Luján, Angus King (I-Maine), Whitehouse, Hickenlooper, Wyden, Heinrich, Markey, Booker, and Merkley as well as Representatives Ansari, Bonamici, Brownley, Carbajal, Sean Casten (D-IlI.), Cohen, Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), DeGette, Dexter, Dingell, Grijalva, Hoyle, Jacobs, Krishnamoorthi, Magaziner, McCollum, Min, Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Neguse, Pallone, Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Randall, Scanlon, Simon, and Vargas signed the letter.

The text of the letter opposing the rescission of the 2024 Onshore Leasing Rule is available HERE. The text of the letter opposing the rescission of the 2024 Waste Prevention Rule is available HERE.

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